Initiatives Online

September 2001

Meet the Leader of Flaget Memorial Hospital, Bardstown, Ky.

Bruce Klockars
President and Chief
Executive Officer

Like many others, Bruce Klockars, president and chief executive officer of Flaget Memorial Hospital, was attracted to the Bardstown, Ky., area by its rural beauty and quality of life. "This area is beginning to grow rapidly as people choose to commute the 40 miles to Louisville, so our demographics are positive for future growth," said Klockars. "We have a great opportunity to enhance our service offerings."

Klockars has been president of the 52-bed acute care and skilled nursing facility since January after serving as interim president since last August. Before that, he served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Saint Joseph Healthcare in Lexington, Ky., another Catholic Health Initiatives market-based organization. "Flaget’s potential for growth is exciting," he said. "We have a full-time cardiologist, two orthopedic surgeons and an oral surgeon and are working to recruit additional specialists to support our primary care base. We already offer services–such as an outpatient rehabilitation center, a rural health clinic, hospice care and a community education center– that really make a difference in the lives of the people who live here. As we grow, we can tap into the expertise and access to capital that is available through Catholic Health Initiatives."

After completing four years of military service, Klockars started his career as assistant executive director of San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Texas. He held administrative positions at HCA Largo Medical Center Hospital in Largo, Fla., and Kleberg Memorial Hospital in Kingsville, Texas, then served as chief executive officer of Edward White Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., before joining Saint Joseph in 1990. Klockars holds a bachelor’s degree from McPherson College in McPherson, Kan., and a master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He and his wife, Diane, who runs her own accounting business, are the parents of Andrew, who just earned a doctorate in pharmacy, and Jeff, a junior business major at the University of Kentucky.

Klockars noted that Flaget is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, whose motherhouse is near Bardstown. "We’re fortunate to have the sisters close to us as we carry out their health care tradition through the mission and values of Catholic Health Initiatives," he said.